The Domain Name Association, or DNA, has elected five new directors to its board, the Internet trade association said Wednesday. The newly elected directors include Afilias Limited ChairmanPhilipp Grabensee; Web.com Senior Vice President Bob Weigand; Jeff Neuman, senior vice president for registry services at Neustar; Stacey King, senior corporate counsel at Amazon; and VladimirShadrunov, director of TLD projects at Asiamix Digital Ltd. DNA said its 12-member board will be responsible for "providing leadership and advancing the association's mission to educate the publicabout the expansion of domain names."

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York state lawmaker is demanding a federal investigation into New York state's care for the disabled following a recent Associated Press story that revealed the case of a man infested with maggots in a state-run group home.Democratic Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi, of Utica, told the AP on Saturday that he is asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate the group home and other state-regulated facilities for the disabled where there have been allegations of abuse and neglect.A copy of the report was obtained by The Associated Press, which found that New York state is not alone in making it difficult for members of the public to access records about allegations of abuse and neglect in state-regulated facilities for the disabled.

BEIJING (AP) — China is tightening control over foreign companies' internet use in a move some worry might disrupt their operations or jeopardize trade secrets as part of a crackdown on technology that allows web surfers to evade Beijing's online censorship.In a letter to corporate customers seen by The Associated Press, the biggest Chinese internet service provider says virtual private networks, which create encrypted links between computers and can be used to see sites blocked by Beijing's web filters, will be permitted only to connect to a company's headquarters abroad.The letter from state-owned China Telecom Ltd. says VPN users are barred from linking to other sites outside China, a change that might block access to news, social media or business services that are obscured by its "Great Firewall."Authorities have tried to reassure companies they won't be affected, but if the rules in the China Telecom letter are enforced, they could hamper activity ranging from gathering information for business deals to employees working on business trips.A Western diplomat who asked not to be identified further due to the sensitivity of the issue said companies have told his government they worry the controls might lead to weaker data security and trade secrets being leaked to Chinese competitors.[...] companies increasingly limit VPN access to employees such as media managers "with a critical business need" to see a banned website, according to Jake Parker, vice president of China operations for the U.S.-China Business Council."Foreign trade enterprises and multinational companies that need a cross-border line for their own office use can lease one from an authorized telecoms enterprise," said the statement.